De Boer: “We deserved more than one point”

Ajax failed to earn three points against Apoel Nicosia in Cyprus. Frank de Boer saw a good Ajax, but was disappointed with the result: “If you analyze this match, we definitely deserve more than one point.”

De Boer was disappointed with the referee: “I thought it was odd that he didn’t make the decision, as he was in the best position to observe what was going on. And then he took advice from someone who was further away. We finally get to 1-0 and then such a cheap goal is scored against us.”

Continuing in his analysis, the coach expresses his surprise at the home game’s style of play: “They went for the long balls when in fact they have players for good position play. The fact that they did that is a compliment for us. Apoel drew back and that means that our philosophy was successful. I’m pleased with the way we played.”

The trainer also complimented Andersen, who scored his first goal for Ajax with the 1-0 in this match: “I think he played a good match. You can see that he can be fatally dangerous with the ball. He has so much flexibility and movement at high speed. I want to grant him the playing time, but we also have Kishna and El Ghazi. They did a good job substituting, and Kishna made two perfect passes. I’m pleased to see that everyone is taking steps in the right direction.”

It’s not only those Ajax players who did well. “We stuck to playing our own game, we dominated. I have to compliment my team, because I saw great things. But I’m concerned that we didn’t make good on our opportunities. If we want to make it to the next round, those opportunities need to go in. That’s the next step. Like Sigthórsson’s first opportunity, in the second minute. I think he wanted to kick it in very coolly. It was a fantastic attack. Those shots just need to go in. That’s why he’s there. I’ve also seen a Sigthórsson who was in good receiving position and who worked very hard. But in the end, he didn’t score.”

The fact that Cillessen didn’t stop the penalty also came up. “No, he’s not really a penalty killer”, admitted the coach candidly. “But each time he stops one, he gets closer. Van der Sar never stopped a penalty either, and then suddenly he was a penalty killer. I think that Jasper will get there very soon.” The full point count wasn’t earned, but De Boer also saw that ‘if we continue to play this way, we can give everyone a tough evening.”